Games | Sports Coach

Will Brett Favre’s legenday sports career end in 2011?

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Brett Favre did it again.
The legendary sports star held out of training camp for several weeks again, before announcing he was returning for one final season in 2010. If the Minnesota Vikings don’t win sports biggest prize, the Super Bowl, would the aged veteran come back for one more try next year?
Who knows! Favre has held sports fans and sports management hostage on numerous occasions, and guessing what Favre might do is next to impossible.
Several factors will likely play into the decision to continue his sports career. Favre is returning for the 2010-2011 season after off-season ankle surgery nearly forced him to retire. Reports that Favre is “lubricating” his ankle during the preseason have surfaced, and it appears that physical ailments might be the Minnesota Quarterback’s undoing.
A second factor likely to force Favre’s hand is playing quarterback in the NFL, past the age of 40 can be hazardous to one’s health. In last year’s NFC Championship, Favre took a mighty beating from a pumped up New Orleans defense creating a lasting image of the sports superstar limping off the field for what many thought would be his last hurrah.
Favre has captivated the sports world for nearly two decades. More recently, Favre has captivated the sports world with his retiring and un-retiring on several occasions. Favre held his first team, the Green Bay Packers hostage several times, before retiring and then joining the New York Jets. After his stint with the Jets, Favre retired again, only to join the Minnesota Vikings, a bitter rival of his Packer teams.
Sports fans have grown weary of the non-committal Favre. While his exploits on the field have been legendary, the more recent memories of Favre’s indecision have perhaps tarnished the future Hall-of-famer’s legacy.
Favre opened the NFL season Thursday, playing on the road at New Orleans.

Filed Under: Games, General, Sports Tagged With: Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, NFL

High school football the most popular of fall prep sports

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Check your local newspaper on Saturday morning, and chances are you will be inundated with scores and stories from the previous night’s football games.
High school volleyball is often played in nearly empty stadiums. Tennis matches are watched by parents and virtually no one else. If you attend a cross-country meet, chances are you will see several dozen parents and fans following the action.
High school football is the mother of high school sports. At a recent high school game in Utah, 25,000 people attended the Bingham/Alta game. So big in fact was the game that school officials moved the game from Bingham high school to Rice/Eccles Stadium, home of the Utah Utes.
While other prep sports struggle with attendance issues, high school football does not have that problem. So why is high school football the most popular of fall sports? Perhaps it has something to do with the time and days of the game. While other prep sports take to the playing field on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, fans of high school football are treated to their sports events on Friday night after the work week is finished. Perhaps it’s the time of season that people naturally look for something to do outdoors before the weather gets too cold. Some suggest the pageantry and vibrancy of high school football makes it the most sought out prep sports event in the country.
NFL and college football have always been lead sports stories for Saturday’s and Sunday’s, but a quick check of your local paper on Saturday morning will provide all the proof you need. Bigger newspapers in larger markets, often dedicate a special section of their Saturday morning paper specifically for high school football sports stories. Even weekly newspapers in small towns dedicate at least a page to the coverage of their Friday night football games.
While high school football will never gain the notoriety that NFL football receives, it will always remain near and dear to the many fans that follow football in their sports worlds.

Filed Under: Games, Sports Tagged With: High school football, highschool, Newspaper, Sport

Sports junkies unite as NFL football commences

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Ladies look out, the start of the NFL football season is upon us.
With the beginning of the NFL football season this week, husbands will once again be neglecting their husbandry duties of taking out the trash and finishing that late season yard work.
That annoying friend that only comes over during the NFL season will start making those unwanted appearances and staying for nine hours as the Sunday sports ticker replays the highlights and low-lights of the weekend’s sports activities.
When the NBA season ends, sports junkies across the country lie in hibernation counting the days until football returns. As the preseason commences in early August, the NFL enthusiast starts making plans for the upcoming season that starts in less than a month. As the final preseason games ends, fantasy sports players study furiously to ensure that this year’s team will be the one that carries them to fantasy sports glory.
NFL football is the great unifier. The start of the NFL season brings lifelong friends together for fantasy drafts and gets families together for the pure viewing pleasure that high-level football provides. Whether it’s the lowly Detroit Lion or the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints, sports fans across the country come together to celebrate their favorite pastime.
The NFL sports junkie that failed to exercise during the summer is more than willing to walk five miles to the stadium for the big game. The husband who tells everyone that he doesn’t know how to cook is suddenly a grilling expert with the start of the NFL sports season.
And oh the time that NFL sports consumes. With games on Thursday, and three games on Sunday plus the must-watch Monday night game, NFL enthusiasts are now pummeled with nearly 15 hours of their favorite pastime every week.
While it might not be the most productive of endeavors, NFL football is a pastime beloved by millions.

Filed Under: Activities, Games, Sports Tagged With: Football, National Football League, NFL, Sport

Tennis takes center stage during United States Open

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Tennis has four major events: Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the United States Open. Unlike golf, where three of the four majors are played in the Unites States, tennis spreads the wealth to three continents and four countries.
During the latter part of August and the beginning stages of September, Flushing Meadow New York takes center stage as the best tennis players from around the world descend on New York City.
While the French Open is played on the famous clay of Roland Garros, and Wimbledon is played on the stoic grass-courts in London, the United States Open is played on hard-courts. Much like the hot summer in New York City, the hard-courts of the U.S. Open provide some of the most scintillating tennis in the world.
One aspect of the United States Open that is unparalleled in the tennis world is the popularity of the late night matches. Major tennis events are typically played outdoors, weather permitting. The play stops at the French Open and Wimbledon as darkness descends, but at the U.S. Open, things only start heating up as the tennis players take to the court for the extremely popular night matches.
Tennis fans from around the world can easily remember the epic night match between Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras or the same Agassi taking out fellow American James Blake in five sets as the match ended well past midnight.
New Yorkers are by nature boisterous and outspoken. As the clock approaches midnight, these revved up New Yorkers get louder, which typically inspires the play on the tennis court. Many times a near-beaten opponent rallies for the come-from-behind victory with the support of the raucous New York crowd.
With Serena Williams missing this year’s U.S. Open because of injury, Belgian Kim Clijsters looks to repeat. On the men’s side, tennis fans have to be hoping for Rafeal Nadal and Roger Federer to reach the finals for one of the most anticipated tennis matches ever.

Filed Under: Activities, Games, Sports Tagged With: French Open, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, U.S. Open

Hole-Cams and Custom Poker Tables

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Sports come in all forms and fashions. In many countries, swimming takes center stage. It is an easy sport to get into because most everyone lives near a pool or a body of water suitable for swimming. In Japan, you can enjoy a bout of sumo wrestling, assuming that you like to watch two men, wearing loin clothes, pushing each other around a ring. In Canada, you can take in a game of curling if you like to watch large rocks sliding across a frozen lake. Every game has its place and time, and card games definitely have theirs.

The poker family of card games has enjoyed a great rise in popularity in the twenty-first century due to a couple of factors. The first factor is the rise of online poker, which allowed gambling outside of states that offer it legally. The second is the implementation of the hole-cam in televised tournaments.

A hole-cam is a camera that has been built into a poker table to show each player’s cards during the game. The camera can be situated under the table if the top is glass or a small window is built in, or it can placed in the raised bumper around the edge. If placed in the table top, each player needs to place his or her cards face-down for the camera to see them. If the camera is in the bumper, the players can hold their cards naturally. This feature has significantly increased the need for custom poker tables.

The hole-cam has allowed audiences to more thoroughly enjoy the process of poker games. The audience can see what the players are holding and can analyze their thinking, and poker tournaments have become something of a study in card and gaming psychology. The games are delayed during broadcasting so that the audience cannot communicate important information to the players or influence the outcome of the game. Likewise, commentators usually record their comments after the play is complete, also to avoid impacting the player’s choices.

Filed Under: Games, Sports Tagged With: Card game, Gambling, Games

Swimming Pools and Kids: What Are the Dangers?

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Swimming with kids can be a fun, healthy activity for the whole family. And families who own pools say nothing beats the convenience and enjoyment of swimming in their own backyards—anytime, year round. But owning a pool comes with the responsibility for safety awareness, especially if children are nearby.

Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death in children in the U.S. And recent studies show that, in some states in the nation’s Sunbelt, where more families own pools, drowning is the number one cause of accidental in children under age five.

What are other key statistics regarding children’s risks and dangers when they’re around swimming pools?

• Nationwide more than 300 children under age five drown in residential swimming pools every year. More than 2,000 children in this age group are treated every year in emergency rooms for submersion-related injuries.

• Medical costs for submersion patients can start from about $2,000 for a victim who fully recovers to nearly $100,000 if the patient has brain damage. Victims with severe brain damage can require extended hospital stays (more than four months) and costs can exceed $150,000.

• A recent study by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) showed that 65 percent of children’s drowning and submersion incidents took place in a pool at the child’s house. Thirty-three percent of the incidents were in a pool at the residence of friends or relatives.

• The CPSC study showed that pool submersion incidents happen fast. Seventy-seven percent of the victims had been missing from sight less than five minutes.

• The study showed that, during most incidents, a parent was on site, but 69 percent of the children were not expected to be near the pool.

• Toddlers are most at risk, reported the CPSC study, because they are most likely to engage in unexpected behaviors. Seventy-five percent of submersion victims were between the ages of one and three. Most (65 percent) were boys.

• The victim’s welfare depends on how quickly the breathing process is restarted, said the study. Seconds matter when trying to save a child from death or brain damage

Filed Under: Games, Swimming Tagged With: Accident, Drowning, Emergency department, Swimming pool

Different Types of Women’s Swimwear

There are many different types of swimwear that are available to women on the market today. But when it comes to swimming for fitness or competition versus swimming for recreational fun, there is a big difference on what type of swim suit that should be worn.

Many styles are available to choose from in the area of swimwear for fitness with many neat patterns and colors, but there are some elements about them that are similar. First of all, the swim suits usually have a high neck so that the water resistance doesn’t drag you down. Also, the straps on the suit are crossed in the back for more stability and so that they don’t fall down when moving your arms during swimming.

Additionally, the swim suits used for fitness or competition are usually one-piece rather than two-piece. It is pretty impractical to wear a bikini or a tankini type of swimming suit when really actively swimming because they aren’t made to resist the water very well and won’t stay where you want them to when pushing off a wall or doing a turn. However, there are some two-piece swimming suits made specifically for fitness swimming that can be used that are made with a higher waist and sports-bra like top, but they do tend to be more expensive than the one-piece ones. And the one-piece swimming suits are still considered the standard and are what is worn during swimming competitions.

Some common variations occur in the different types of swimming suits. The thickness of the straps varies from style to style and really is based on personal preference. Depending if you are outside in the sun and how often you are swimming tan lines might play a role on the strap you prefer. Also, the type of material used to make the suit can differ from being polyester or nylon/lycra. Most of the swimming suits are made from nylon/lycra, but they tend to become stretched out and wear out quickly. A polyester suit might be harder to find, but they don’t wear out as fast and are great for practice.

Filed Under: Excercises, Games, Swimming Tagged With: Clothing, Swimming (sport), Swimsuit, Swimwear

Putting Money on the Game: Sports Investing and Betting

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Most people bet on sports this way: They choose a game that they think is the best, bet big on it, choose a few more that they like, bet high on those, and then bet small amounts on riskier games just for fun. Some people do the same thing online; they pick some sites they like, and use the same principal to bet on sports.

As people have found out, this is not the smartest way to bet. You end up losing too much, overall, even if you win one or two of your wagers. That is because you did not spread your bet evenly, and the percentages are not in your favor.

Sports investing is a method of doing away with this problem by betting in a much smarter way. It assumes that you are a good enough bettor to pick one or two winners. Given that you can do this, sports investing tells you to set aside a part of your available money, after taking into account bills and other living expenses, and use small, equal parts of your cash to bet on a few top games of your choice.

It doesn’t matter how you do it, most people put money on a game because they’re passionate about a particular sport, player, or team. Perhaps they’ve followed this one sport for years. They know a lot of the important stats and can rattle off who won the big games over the last decade. Having all that knowledge is great and will certainly dazzle people at cocktail parties, but why not put it to use? Translate that enthusiasm for the game into a couple of bucks. True sports fans have found this is a way to put money where their mouth is!

Filed Under: Games, Sports Tagged With: Gambling, Games, Money, Sport

A Brief History of Swimming Until the First Olympic Games

Although we have no early records, surely even the first humans enjoyed the health, spiritual and recreational benefits of submerging themselves in water. Our earliest visual records of swimming are Stone Age cave paintings done more than 7,000 years ago in southwest Egypt. Early written references to swimming are found in two of the oldest works of Western literature, the Greek epics the Iliad and the Odyssey, attributed to Homer, written in 8th century B.C.

In 1696, the French writer Melchisédech Thévenot published The Art of Swimming, in which he described a breaststroke similar to the one we use today. This book was became the standard reference for swimming, and one of its many readers was a young American named Benjamin Franklin. In fact, Franklin, an avid swimmer, is credited with the invention of swimming fins. In 1708, the first known lifesaving group began in China. Early swimming clubs (primarily focused on lifesaving) were also formed in Sweden, Holland and Great Britain, and soon similar groups were established all over the world.

By 1844 swimming was well established as a competitive sport in England, but British swimmers used the breaststroke. In a swimming exhibition that year, a group of North American Indian swimmers demonstrated a speedy but unconventional technique that shocked onlookers called “totally un-European.” Europeans shunned the technique for more than 30 years until an Englishman named John Arthur Trudgen reintroduced a variant of the stroke, later known as the front crawl, to the British after he learned it from Native Americans while in South America. The stroke, then called “the Trudgen,” quickly became popular in England and around the world, revolutionizing competitive swimming.

Swimming was an event in the first modern Olympic games in 1896 in Athens. There were three freestyle events, open only to men, and one freestyle event open only to Greek sailors. The swimming competitions were held in the cold waters of the sea (the Bay of Zea, off the Piraeus coast) because organizers were unwilling to spend money to construct an indoor pool.

Filed Under: Games, General, Swimming Tagged With: Great Britain, swimming, Swimming and Diving, Water Sports

Avoid Overspending on Sports With a Prepaid Card

Every person who really loves sports knows that it can be an expensive hobby. If you like to play sports, the equipment that you need to participate can quickly add up. If you’d rather watch from the sidelines, the tickets to major events are not cheap, and then you have to add food, parking and other incidentals onto the price of the tickets. Some people aren’t that good with managing their money, and they can quickly get into trouble because watching and playing sports is costing them too much. With a prepaid card, they can only spend a set amount.

That’s just one of the options that someone can use to control his sports spending, though. There are also savings accounts, ‘rainy day’ funds like change jars, and other methods that can be used to control how much money is going out of the house for sports. If you know that a big sporting event is coming up, or you know you’re about to need a lot of specific equipment for a sport, consider budgeting for that and saving up for it. If you don’t overspend on sports, you’ll be more comfortable in the rest of the things you do, because you won’t be worried about money.

Sports are fun, and they’re great stress relievers, too. Getting exercise is always beneficial, so you don’t have to feel badly about playing sports. It’s just a good idea to make sure that you aren’t spending your entire budget on the equipment that you need. Plan ahead and take full advantage of sales at your local sporting goods stores. That way you can get what you need but you don’t have to pay nearly as much for it. It’s a big plus when you can get new sporting equipment and still pay the bills without any problem.

Filed Under: Activities, Games Tagged With: Money, Sport